Lifebound Read online

  Dearest daughter, do not do anything you will both regret. Come home, Adriana.

  With love,

  Mother

  Adriana slowly folded the letter and inserted it back into the envelope, never even looking at the résumés of the men enclosed. She had only received a handful of letters from her mother in her entire life, and the utterly composed Tania Velen had never signed one “with love,” nor had she referred to Adriana as “dearest” anything before. Her family did not demonstrate affection in writing or in public or indeed anywhere at all.

  She held the letter to her cheek for a moment.

  Was her mother right?

  Adriana frowned as she considered anew everything she was asking Josh to give up by becoming her host. He deserved a real relationship with a woman who could love and touch him every day without the threat of death. He deserved children. Tears welled in her eyes at the beautiful picture of Josh as a father, holding his newborn baby in his arms.

  She would not be able to give him that. If she were to become pregnant, her body would be likely to consume the energies of any human child before it could even develop, and if by some miracle a child of theirs survived with lamia powers, that child would never be able to touch its father without draining him.

  Then she considered the rest of the contents.

  Lifebound. The curse of the strong connection. Each party grew dependent on the other to the point that their energies synchronized completely. They would be forced to touch one another many times daily and could not be more than a few miles apart at any time.

  Both of them could forget having any semblance of an independent life. Wherever one wanted to go, the other was forced to follow. Josh wouldn’t be able to go on tour without her in his hip pocket, tagging along to every single event. She wouldn’t be able to go shopping in the next town unless he were right there with her, holding her purse so to speak.

  Lifebinding gave leg-shackled a whole new meaning.

  Even if they chose to bind themselves to one another, naively believing their love would be stronger than their resentment of each other’s continued presence, she couldn’t touch Josh long enough to synchronize to him without killing him. Their connection was too strong.

  Worse, the binding carried a death sentence. If something happened to Josh, she would not be able to take a new host as she would no longer be able to draw on any other human. If she were to pass away, he would be unable to live without the connection to her. When one died, the other would follow in days.

  One way or another, if she stayed with Josh, she would probably kill him.

  She wiped at the tears that had come to her eyes. Her mother was right. She’d been kidding herself. Even worse, she’d been deceiving Josh, leading him to think that somehow they could have the life they both dreamed of.

  He was human. She was lamia. She was a monster.

  And she had to let him go.

  A half-hour later, the sound of a loud boom stirred Josh from slumber. He opened his eyes to the soft golden glow of morning light that shone through the window of his room, his arms still wrapped around Adriana—or so he thought at first. In fact, he only clutched the pillows that he had placed between them to keep them from touching once Sarka’s tiki spell had sputtered out.

  He sat up, stretching his shoulders.

  Her side of the bed lay cool and vacant, but the coverlet had been carefully smoothed back over him. “Adriana? Where did you go?” His voice echoed slightly in the very empty room. Maybe she was in the bathroom. A quick check revealed no Adriana.

  He dressed quickly and headed downstairs. As usual, the elevator refused to stop for his human self on the paranormal-only second floor, so he couldn’t check to see if she had just gone to pack in her room. After all, departure day had come, and he’d planned for the two of them to ride the ferry back to normalcy. Well, as normal as life with a lamia could be.

  Then he considered the culture-shock she had certainly set herself up for by hooking up with a professional skater. He grinned as he imagined her on tour with him—chairman of the board would take on a whole new meaning for her. He couldn’t wait to show her around his place in Mobile, to take her to meet Alicia and Rob. But he had to find her first.

  In the lobby, Myron sat in her customary spot behind the big desk, ever present cards in her hand. He half expected her to just point him in the right direction—dining room, garden, library—since she certainly knew who he was looking for.

  However, as he approached, she folded her hand and looked up at him.

  “I am not privy to the entire future,” she said out of the blue. “I catch hints, bits and pieces, snippets of things to come. So when I say I don’t know, I don’t know.”

  Her words utterly mystified him. “So you don’t know where Adriana is?”

  “That I do know. I watched her leave through the portal a few minutes ago. What I don’t know is what’s next. I don’t know if you’ll ever see her again.”

  Josh stood there, boring holes in her with his eyes. “You don’t know if I’ll ever see her again?” Then after a moment he asked, “What portal?”

  “The portal that transports our paranormal guests back to their lives. Adriana’s not really from around here, you know.”

  “I had guessed.” Josh tried to make sense of it all. “So she is coming back? Sometime today?”

  He waited for Myron to flip a card, but the deck stayed tight in her fingers as the medium shook her head sadly. Then she reached under the desk and pulled out an envelope. “She left this for you.”

  He reached out to take the card, his hand trembling. The air in the room felt thinner as he ripped it open, cutting his finger with the edge of the paper in the process.

  Dear Josh—

  The words blurred a little and he blinked to clear his eyes.

  I am so sorry to have to tell you this way, but I have to go. I love you so much, and I don’t want to hurt you. You deserve so much more than me. You deserve to be loved and to be happy. I am so sorry.

  Adriana.

  “What the hell? She’s just going to bail on me? She’s not even going to give us a chance?”

  Cemil walked into the lobby.

  “Where is she?” Josh demanded. “Where does Adriana live? I need to see her.”

  Cemil closed his eyes briefly. “Josh, I’m sorry. We keep our guests’ personal information in complete confidence. If Adriana wanted you to know how to find her, she would have told you.”

  Josh Trenton had never before felt the emotion that rolled over him then. He’d been disappointed before. He’d been angry. But until that moment, he’d never felt devastated. He shook his head and shifted his weight from foot to foot. His stomach tied itself into a knot of nausea, and his hands began to shake so badly he nearly dropped Adriana’s note. Cemil actually took a step away from him, wincing a little as he did.

  Josh sent another wave of anguish then anger in the empath’s direction and headed upstairs to pack. The ferry off that damned island couldn’t get there soon enough for him.

  Not quite two hours later, Josh boarded the boat, his backpack slung over his shoulder. He stood at the rail overlooking the ocean and studied the horizon. Preston Mitchell, clad once more in his three piece suit, joined him there.

  “It’s an incredible place,” Preston said. “I’ll miss it.”

  When Josh didn’t reply, Preston looked around and asked, “Will Miss Velen be joining you on the mainland instead?”

  “No.”

  Preston turned to face the open ocean before them and patted the teak wood of the handrail. “A shame. I placed all my bets otherwise.”

  “You know something about their world. Where is she? How did she leave without getting on the ferry?” Josh’s voice was harsh and demanding.

&nb
sp; The older man shook his head solemnly. “I am not exactly sure about the where, only that we humans do not make that trip lightly. I have never been invited myself. The portals between the worlds open periodically in certain designated places. Wiccan Haus Island contains one of them. But many paras spend a great deal of time in our plane of existence, under cover of course. The worlds have a sort of symbiotic relationship, I believe. Each needs something the other offers.”

  The ferry launched, sending cold salt spray into their faces.

  “If it helps any,” Preston added, “I truly believed Miss Velen would have been at your side. Perhaps when she clears up her loose ends at home, she will return.”

  “What loose ends?” Josh asked.

  “I believe she received a letter of some kind early this morning. I went down for a cup of coffee and to pick up my last correspondence and noticed a letter bearing the Velen family crest. She would have been the likely recipient.”

  “So how can I find her? Cemil wouldn’t give me anything.”

  Preston gripped Josh’s shoulder, a frown of warning on his face. “Do not look for her, son. The paranormal world is very protective of its privacy. You do not wish to come to the notice of their ruling Syndicate. Humans who ask too many questions tend to disappear. Even if I knew, I would not tell you. I already know far more about their society and their business than I probably should.” The older man sighed and let his hand drop back to his side. “And the lamia protect their own more closely than any group, other than perhaps the vampires. Your answers, Josh, likely lie with the Lamia Council. Most likely Adriana has been brought to heel.”

  They stood in silence as Josh turned over the concept that vampires actually existed. Disturbing wasn’t really the word for it.

  “I am heartily sorry for it too,” Preston said. “You both seemed so happy together.”

  Preston clapped him one more time on the shoulder, then headed back to sit with his lady friend.

  After a long, boring ride through thick fog, the ferry docked at the little fishing village where Josh’s journey had started so many days ago.

  He hefted his backpack again and strode toward the gangplank onto the wooden dock.

  “Sir,” a voice called from behind him.

  One of the deckhands came forward with his cane. “Sir, you left this.”

  Josh took the cane with a frown. He hadn’t used it in days. His time with Adriana had completely healed his hip. The island had done its job. Alicia would be glad.

  He crossed to the ocean side of the ferry and hurled the walking stick as far into the water as he could, watching it sink with a sense of detachment.

  His body might be whole again, but that damned island had torn his heart in half.

  “Josh!”

  The sound of Rob’s voice stirred him from the hypnotic study of the baggage carousel. He nearly missed his backpack as he turned to watch his cousin and good friend roll up beside him.

  Rob reached out his hand for their customary half-handshake, half-hug. “So how was the trip?” he asked as they headed to the elevator to the main floor of the airport.

  “Good,” Josh lied. “Really good.”

  The entire flight back from Bangor to Mobile, he’d done nothing but brood. Where was Adriana? Would she go back to wherever she lived in Silicon Valley? Could Alicia drum up an address of her old place? Could he get a new address and at least send her a card? Flowers? Another tiki?

  “You look like you’re walking better,” Rob said as the doors opened for the two men.

  “So do you,” Josh said without thinking.

  “Dude, I’m not walking at all. Where is your brain? Still at the spa? How much massage action did you get?”

  “Not enough, buddy,” Josh said, finally able to manufacture a smile. “Not nearly enough.”

  “Alicia’s got dinner waiting. Then the kids have a play at school. You wanna come?”

  “No, I’m good. Tell the twins I said break a leg—but not like I did.”

  They hopped into Rob’s converted van—well, technically Rob rolled onto the big powered ramp—as Josh considered just how good his cousin had it.

  Josh called his and Alicia’s two kids twins mostly just to annoy them. They were eight and nine—one boy, one girl, both adopted. Raoul was from Ecuador and Eleni was from Ukraine—the daylight and dark twins, he liked to tease them, as Raoul was as dark eyed, dark haired, and dark skinned as Eleni was fair.

  But they got along just like typical brothers and sisters, playing, fighting, and teasing each other—until the moment came that tackling Uncle Josh would be even more fun. Then they presented a united front.

  “On second thought, I will take you up on that dinner invitation,” Josh said. “Alicia’s making something good I hope?”

  “Peas, cornbread, squash patties, and some leftover roast, I think. How’s that?”

  “Sounds perfect.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Almost a world away, Adriana sat down to lunch at her parents’ house. Meals at Wiccan Haus had been served “family style,” but its casual gatherings around the tables passing bowls of apple salad were nothing like the “family” meal she was being served at the moment.

  A pair of solemnly dressed servants appeared out of nowhere in the large dark-paneled dining salon, one pouring her a glass of wine as the other deposited her meal before her. Adriana eyed the elaborately styled, colorful mass on her plate.

  “Olivier has been experimenting with fusion cuisine,” her mother said. “We never know just what sort of flavor combinations we will experience.”

  “He assures us that it will go well with the wine,” her father added. “I would like your opinion on this Merlot. It’s Chilean.”

  Adriana took the obligatory sip. “Very nicely balanced. Fruity. I like it, Father.”

  He gave her a smile and a nod, and she began to wonder if these really were her parents or if dopplegangers had replaced them. Her father had never asked her opinion on a wine before, and the way they both smiled at her unnerved her.

  Lunch passed amiably with much small talk taking place about the various comings and goings of the lamia families that formed their circle of acquaintances.

  “Well, my dear,” her father said at last as he rose from the table, “that was a delicious meal. Adriana, it is very good to have you home again for a while.”

  He passed behind her, resting his hand lightly on her shoulder, then actually kissed the top of her head before leaving the room.

  Adriana thought she might faint. Who were these people?

  “Come sit in the garden with me,” her mother said kindly as she too rose from her perfectly upholstered seat.

  Adriana knocked back the rest of her wine quickly, guessing she needed its fortification for the interview to come. They took a seat in the arbor of the rose garden, the lush blooms filling the air with heady fragrance.

  “Your father and I feel it is time we told you a few things about the realities of life,” Tania began without preamble. “We had hoped that you would be settled with Tom Bridges for many years to come and that you would find a young man from your own kind to meet your personal needs. However, since you have gotten involved with a human, you must understand that the rules and formalities that govern our lives and yours have not been forged lightly.”

  Her mother plucked a leaf from one of the nearby bushes and began to roll it between her fingers. “In 1969, I was barely twenty years old. Your father was twenty-three. We, along with a number of other lamia who I shall not name to you, staged a sort of rebellion against the Council.”

  Adriana’s widened her eyes. Rebellion?

  “We had been very disillusioned by the Council’s support of certain individuals as hosts over the past several years. It might shock you to know this, b
ut for a while, Adolf Hitler served as a lamia host, as did a number of the scientists who headed the Manhattan Project. Truly, the council decided to promote the Manhattan Project to try to end a war they felt guilty for having started, not realizing Hitler’s true nature early enough.”

  Her mother sighed and tossed the now crumpled leaf to the ground.

  “However, by the sixties, the younger lamia generation felt a drastic change needed to occur—make love not war, so to speak. And we rebelled. Instead of promoting giants of industry and political figures, we wanted to support the arts—music, movies, literature. So we selected Jack Kerouac and Bob Dylan instead of Nixon and Johnson. We really believed we had the power to usher in that new age everyone was looking for.”

  “I met an incredible musician,” Tania continued, a dreamy look coming into her eyes. “We had such a powerful connection to one another.” Then she sniffed once and turned away. “It didn’t end well. I almost became lifebound to him by accident. Then only a few months later, he died of a drug overdose. If we’d been bonded, I would be dead too.”

  “Just how did you almost bond by accident? I can’t touch Josh for more than a couple of minutes without knocking him out.”

  Tania’s cheeks reddened and she sighed. “We discovered that the use of certain recreational drugs effect the energy draw on a human.

  “For instance, a host on amphetamines effectively supercharges his energy levels so he doesn’t drain as fast. Jim was very high the night we—” Tania paused for a moment “—the night I nearly bonded with him.”

  “So you guys gave your hosts drugs in order to have sex with them?” Adriana couldn’t believe her ears.

  “Of course not!” Tania snapped. “This was 1969! Drugs were everywhere. And don’t try this, Adriana. It’s extremely dangerous to both the host and the lamia. Besides, you don’t want to be lifebound to anyone. I know you care about this young man, and since you care about him, you will protect him. If you were lifebound to each other, he would only come to resent you.”